Street Heat - Readers' Rides - March 2014

Send high-res, digital photos and a description of your high-tech performer to: Donald.Randall@sorc.com or mail to GM High-Tech Performance, 9036 Brittany Way, Tampa, FL 33619. All photos are presumed to be for publication, and GMHTP reserves the right to edit accompanying descriptions.

Blue Bullet

Unless you've got a slow-motion camera, ordinarily fired lead bullets cannot be caught by the naked eye, and the aftermath always points to a path of destruction. Javan Gonzalez's 2007 C6 Z06 is by no means lead, but it sure is quick. Following a similar style of operation, the St. Louis, Missouri based C6 missile is sporting a lighter-than-lead Racing Head Service 427 cubic-inch block, Mast Motorsports heads, a Comp Cam, a ported Fast 102, and a Nick Williams 102 throttle body. An ear pleasing pair of American Racing stepped headers scream, especially when combined with a Corsa muffler. Listing every modification is pointless, but just know that Chad Barton at CBI StreetCars built the bullet Z06, and it runs nine-second quarters, with no power adders. The RPS Triple carbon clutch gets the shiny Bogart RR10s rolling, and when Javan pulls the trigger by smashing the throttle, it's time to hold on!

2/5

Factory Driver

Hitting perfect apexes, tracking out all the way, and never lifting is an everyday occurrence for Grand-Am driver Jordan Bupp. If he's not buckled into a racecar, he's aggressively driving a 2013 Camaro 1LE to his aftermarket modification shop. You see, satisfying a racecar driver's performance expectations isn't easy, so Jordan started American Speed Factory (ASF), in Fort Lauderdale (FL), turning fellow enthusiasts' dreams, and his own, into aftermarket actualities. According to Jordan, a pair of Pfadt headers, an ASF custom-grind camshaft, a Fast 102 intake, and an Airaid cold air intake accentuates the 1LE's capability, closely resembling the aptitude of a true track car, producing 468 rear-wheel horsepower and 430 rear-wheel torque. Down the road, Jordan's thrust for twin-turbo boost will ultimately be quenched. In the mean time, keep peering into the rearview mirror, looking for Jordan in the South Florida area. A point by is not needed, so just expect to be passed.

3/5

Tasteful Trans Am

For a thirteen-year-old car, Matt Carpse's 2001 WS6 Trans Am looks like it just rolled off of the factory floor, with tasteful alterations of course! Starting upfront on the wonderful WS6, the sleek Street Legal Performance (SLP) hood sets a tone of simple and stylish, accompanied by a pair of blue-in-color Blackbird stripes that point back to the Emblempros vintage Firebird emblems. Slide down to the deep dishes, and you'll find 19- and 20-inch 505As, from Complete Custom Wheel (CCW), flooding the fenders, thanks to some Bilstein HD shocks. A quick look behind reveals the Magnaflow quad-tip exhaust, injecting some throaty sounds waves into the air. While the well-taken-care-of Trans Am is not heavily modified, it deserves ample recognition for it's tasteful nuances that seem to be frozen in time. Next up for the Rantoul, Illinois time traveler is a set of upgraded heads, a cam, an intake, and, oh, maybe a turbo or two! Now we're getting somewhere!

4/5

Phoenix Fiend

Meet Ryan Riebold's desert dwelling 2004 LS1 GTO, taking up residence in Phoenix, Arizona. There's no myth about Ryan's goat, and it's been appealingly telling the tale of modification harmony. The Phoenician GTO takes pleasure in kicking up some sand, and leaving others in the dust. Beneath the bonnet is a 422 rear-wheel horsepower LS1, with ported and polished 243-heads, and an Ed Curtis camshaft. Additionally, a flock of LS fragments follow, like the LS2 fuel rails, the LS2 injectors, and a ported LS6 intake manifold. The MGW short throw shifter allows for swift shifts, taking advantage of the LS7 clutch and 3.91 gears. Hotchkis sway bars and a full BC Racing coil-over setup keep things tight when the GTO blazes down the highway, creating an uproar through the Pacesetter headers and mid-pipe, down into the SLP Loudmouth mufflers with dual 4-inch tips. Maybe a supercharger is next, but for now, Ryan is just enjoying the setup's current coherence.